No one does epics quite like they used to. I mean, it\u2019s been 30 years and few bands have even come close to matching tracks like \u201cBohemian Rhapsody,\u201d \u201cStairway To Heaven\u201d and even \u201cNovember Rain?\u201d But you have to give a band props for trying their hand at creating their own definitive, sprawling masterpieces, however overblown some may end up, and on their fourth album, English rockers Muse come pretty damn close with their final track, \u201cKnights Of Cydonia.\u201d <\/p>\n
But since most normal people don\u2019t listen to an album from back to front (not even me and I\u2019m the type of person who, without fail, flips to the end of every single mystery novel), let\u2019s start back at side one. Black Holes And Revelations <\/i>sets the tone for the rest of its material with its slow-burning opener, \u201cTake A Bow,\u201d a scathing ode to the government laid out in simple proclamations like \u201cPay \/ You must pay for your crimes against the Earth.\u201d Though the instrumentation is the typical densely layered pile of noise and distorted vocals we know and love from Muse, the blunt lyrics leave a bit to be desired, especially considering the fact that most bands at the moment have put the same complaints to music. <\/p>\n
Next up are the album\u2019s third and second singles, \u201cStarlight\u201d and \u201cSupermassive Black Hole,\u201d respectively. \u201cStarlight\u201d starts out strong with its pounding beat and swirling guitars but, though it\u2019s enjoyable, isn\u2019t up to the caliber of its previous material with its slightly generic power-pop sentiment. \u201cSupermassive Black Hole,\u201d on the other hand, is where the album picks up steam again. With glam-style vocals, crunching guitar and a slick, swaggering groove, it\u2019s nothing you\u2019d expect from the apocalyptic tendencies of their previous albums and that\u2019s exactly what makes it so interesting. <\/p>\n
But it\u2019s two songs that sum up the entire Black Holes and Revelations, <\/i>the first of which is \u201cMap Of The Problematique\u201d; though Muse were already known as a formidable live act, they continue to indulge their stadium-ready sound, blowing it up to even more towering proportions in the soaring choruses and choral, almost Depeche Mode-electro straight out of \u201cEnjoy The Silence.\u201d It stops just short of overblown, retaining a measured poise to balance out the theatrics. <\/p>\n
Of course, you can\u2019t mention theatrics without returning to \u201cKnights Of Cydonia.\u201d Mixing whinnying horses and laser guns (and that\u2019s just in the first 30 seconds) with their own distinctive blend of prog-rock, \u201cKnights\u201d brings something to the table that most artists wouldn\u2019t even think of doing anymore. It builds to a fiery, earth-quaking climax that explodes into massive, multi-tracked harmonies, surely a nod to \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d as it then leads a thundering guitar break. With a defiant statement like \u201cYou and I must fight for our rights \/ you and I must fight to survive\u201d as its chorus, this is sure to be Muse\u2019s definitive moment. <\/p>\n
Black Holes And Revelations <\/i>does have its stumbling points, but it more than makes up for its weak moments with the overarching strength of the rest of its material. This is an album that demands to be listened to, and you\u2019d be hard-pressed not to give in. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":28529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7763],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-39993","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-muse","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39993"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}